Haze and the Hammer of Darkness by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

background blending camouflage.
    â€œSome,” he called back.
    â€œI’ll meet you up ahead at the rest stop. When you get to the trail, turn to your right. It’s about half a klick ahead on the trail.”
    Should he take the caller’s word? He could attempt to escape, but they’d found him in the middle of a forest, and not even on a trail—and they knew standard, including measurements. Thomists? That was looking to be the most probable conclusion, but anything was still possible.
    He continued making his way uphill. He came to the trail after less than a hundred meters, although he hadn’t been able to see it until he was almost upon it. Again, it was a manicured and wood-fragment-mulched walkway. Roget stopped, then looked north and south. He saw no one. He turned north, walking at a deliberate pace.
    The rest stop was little more than two benches on the uphill side of the trail, with another stone fountain on the downhill side. A woman wearing a long-sleeved green shirt, gray trousers, and gray hiking boots sat on the bench nearest Roget. There was no one else in sight except the two of them.
    She stood as he approached. She was a good thirty centimeters shorter than Roget, and muscular, but neither slender nor stocky. Her hair was white blond, and her face was oval with deep gray eyes, wide cheekbones, and a jaw that was just short of being square. Her skin was either lightly tanned or that shade naturally. With the planet’s shields, how could he tell?
    He stopped a meter short of her but did not speak. He saw no obvious weapons.
    â€œI’m Lyvia. I’ll be your guide to Dubiety.”
    â€œThat’s what you call the world?”
    â€œOfficially and unofficially. What does the Federation call it?”
    â€œHaze.”
    â€œYou haven’t told me your name. Or the cover name you’ve adopted. Either will do.” Lyvia smiled.
    Her expression was fractionally warmer than polite, and slightly amused, Roget noted. “Keir. Keir Roget.”
    â€œWe have a hike ahead of us, Keir. It’s a good twelve klicks to the trailhead station. I’ll explain a few matters along the way, and you can ply me with questions. Some I’ll answer. Some will have to wait, and some you’ll be able to answer yourself in time.”
    â€œAll your responses will be Delphic, I’m certain.”
    â€œOnly if you take them that way. We try to be factual. Oh, and I’d ask that you be careful with the weapons and those powerpacks built into your suit. Matters could become difficult if you hurt anyone.” She turned and began to walk.
    Roget had to take three quick long steps to catch up with her. The trail was wide enough for two to walk comfortably side-by-side. As he matched her pace, he couldn’t help but think that she’d shown no surprise meeting him, and no fear and no hesitation in turning her back to him. It hadn’t been a bluff. Nor had it been naiveté. Haze—or Dubiety—knew where he’d come from and had been prepared to meet him within a day and a half of his landing in what appeared to have been a relatively remote area … or at least an area removed from easy transport access. That raised the question of how much more the Federation knew than he’d been told. It also suggested just how expendable he was.
    â€œThis is one of the Thomist worlds, I take it?” he finally said.
    â€œThomists settled Dubiety. You should be able to tell that once you’ve seen more.”
    â€œWhat sort of commnet do you use?”
    â€œThere’s a full planetary net.”
    â€œYou don’t care much for the standard broadcast spectrum. Why not?”
    â€œBroadcomm has definite physical and physiological effects. We’ve avoided those.”
    â€œSuch as?”
    â€œBoth implants and hand-held devices have adverse impacts on brain physiology. That’s especially true for certain genetic profiles.